pilement now before us, will afford both entertainment and inftruction to the candid Reader. Hi. ART. VI. Remarks on Ecclefiaftical Hiftory. Vols. IV. and V. 8vo. 10s. boards. White. 1773 WE E have had fuch frequent occafions of expreffing our fentiments concerning the late learned Dr. Jortin, and the preceding volumes of this work have been fo favourably received, that we need say nothing by way of introduction to our account of the volumes now before us. They contain Remarks on Ecclefiaftical History from the year 337 to 1517, and are chiefly compiled from the works of Fleury, Du Pin, Tillemont, Mofheim, Le Clerk, Bafnage, &c.; and as in travelling through the gloomy paths of Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, we now and then meet with fome very refpectable and amiable characters; so in perufing the Doctor's Remarks, we often meet with sprightly obfervations, and entertaining ftories; a few of which we fhall infert for the amufement of our Readers: A. 389. There were at Alexandria two pagan grammarians, of whom one was priest of Jupiter, the other was priest of the Monkey. This ferves to illuftrate Juvenal xv. 4. Efgies facri nitet aurea Cercopitheci. The image of the Monkey-god was preferved by the Chriftians, when they destroyed all the other idols in Alexandria, that it might be a monument of Egyptian folly and fuperftition. The Pagans and the Chriftians both made themselves merry with this Ægyptian god: but it is obfervable that he hath furvived Jupiter and Juno, and all the claffical gods majorum and minorum gentium. The Portuguese robbed a temple at Ceylon, and took away the celebrated Tooth of the Monkey, which was most devoutly adored by the inhabitants, who offered an immenfe fum to the Viceroy of Goa, to redeem it. But he, in his zeal against pagan idolatry, chofe rather to burn it publicly in the market place. Huber, though he was a Dutchmar, compares this action of the Viceroy with the conduct of his own countrymen in Japan, where they had agreed to perform no public act of religion; and concludes, that if they had been poffe.lors of the Monkey's Tooth, they would have made a different ufe of it. Theophilus, having obtained leave to deftroy the pagan temples in Alexandria, fet about it, and fent for the monks, fays Fleury, to alfift bim with their prayers. Fleury fhould have faid,-with their fifts. Non precibus, fed pugnis. 'Evagrius hath written a most unfair account of the Neftorian and Eutychian quarrels, crying up Cyril and his affociates as faints, and representing Neftorius as the vileft of blafphemers, and worfe than Judas Iscariot; and then makes the following digreffion concerning the variety of theological fentiments amongst Chriftians: "Let not the Gentiles deride us, because our later prelates vary from their predeceffors, and are always adding fomething new to our For our account of the first, fecond, and third volumes of Dr. Jortin's Remarks, fee Review, vols. iv. vi. and ix. faith. faith. For we fearching the myfterious and incomprehenfible goodnes of God towards men, and endeavouring to honour and extol it as much as we poffibly can, follow, fome this, and fome that opinion. Not one of those who have ftarted herefies amongft Chriftians, and have fallen into errors, had any defign of favouring impiety, and infulting the divine Majefty; but in reality, each of these perfons thought that he expressed himself better than those who had been before him. And as to the principal and fundamental paths of faith, we are all of one accord, &c." Out of thy own mouth fhalt thou be judged; for if Chriftians may err, bona fide, and with the most upright intentions, and if this was generally the cafe of heretics, the confequence is very clear, that Chriftians ought not to treat one another as dogs, devils, and Ifcariots, for mere mistakes in opinion, nor invent and enlarge unfcriptural and metaphyfical confeffions of faith, on purpose to distress and exclude fuch perfons, nor pafs a fentence of anathematism and damnation upon them. A. 447. There was an earthquake at Conftantinople; at which time a boy was taken up into heaven, before all the people, and there heard the angels finging their hymn; and came down on earth again, and repeated it to Proclus the Bishop, and to others, and then died. This flory is adopted, not only by Paronius, which is no marvel, but even by Valefius, from whom better things might have been expected. The fame hymn or litany is called The Trifagium; and it is; *ΑΠΘ ὁ Θεός, απο ἰσχυρὸς, απο αθάνατο, ἐλέησον ἡμᾶς. San&us Deus, fanctus Fortis, fan&us Immortalis, miferere nobis. It is intended, as Bishop Beverege wifely obferves, for an invo cation of the Trinity. Some faucy Greeks afterwards prefumed to interpolate the angelic fong, by adding to it, i saveubels & nuãs qui crucifixus es pro nobis. And this caufed terrible combuftions and quarrels in the church. If Greek is the language spoken in heaven, it is bad news for our enthufiaftical preachers, who know nothing of that tongue. Baronius, who knew as little of it as they, fhould, inftead of writing ecclefiaflical hiftory, have applied himself to the ftudy of Greek. As to Valefius, he had a good share of it, to which he could truft. : A. 496. Chlodoveus, or Clovis, king of the Franks, was baptized at which time, fays Hincmar, fuddenly a light brighter than the fun filled the church, and a voice was heard, faying, peace be with you: it is I: be not afraid: abide in my love. Then a moit fragrant odour perfumed the whole place; and a dove came, and brought in her bill a vial full of chrifm, with which his majefty was anointed. This was, as Baronius excellently obferves, a miracle worthy of the apoftolical times. The fancta ambulla is ftill preserved, and reverenced by the godly; and the Abbé Vertot was not afhamed to write a differtation in defence of it. Middleton hath made fome remarks on this miracle. Archbishop Hincmar, fays Fleury, fo late as in the year 869, is the firft voucher for the truth of the fanda ampulla, the boly vial. Hence, I think, and from Fleury's filence when he relates the bap tifm of Clovis, it may be concluded that he had not fuch a portion of 1 faith as Baronius, and that he believed nothing of this miracle. The fame may be faid of Daniel, who wrote the hiftory of France. The converfion of Clovis, fays Vertot, was not lefs a mafterly ftroke of policy, than a miracle of grace; and this prince after his baptifm did not reign in Gaul, becaufe he was the frongeft, but becaufe the clergy had difpofed the people to receive him as their lawful fovereign. Clovis, in honour to whole piety this miracle was wrought, was a Chriftian, it feems; but a ftrange fort of Chriftian. He retained all the ferocity and barbarity that he had when he was a pagan. ReftIefs, ambitious, and fanguinary, as molt conquerors are, he murdered kings and princes who were his near relations. If there be any truth in the flory, (which I do not believe) I would fuppofe, with Mofheim, that the ecclefiaftics, who attended at the King's baptifm, had trained up a tame dove to fly to the font, with a phial hung to her neck. Why not? We had here a Canarybird, who could perform greater feats, and play as many ingenious tricks as his predeceffors, the little borse, and the sbien favant, to the aftonishment of the fpectators. A. 59. St. Columbanus was an Irishman, a monk, a prophet, and a worker of miracles, who went and fettled in France. He found a cavern there, inhabited by a bear. He fent away the bear, and took it for his own ufe, and caufed a fountain to fpring up close by it. • The Saint fhould not have turned the poor bear out of his own house, to which he had a right by possession and prescription, which in the law is nine points of ten towards fettling a property. The fame den might have held them both, and they would have been pretty company. Sabas, a monk and an abbot, towards the beginning of this cen tury, had retired to Scythopolis, to a cavern which was inhabited by a huge lion, who of his own accord quitted it to the Saint. Here. there seems to have been no wrong done. Volenti non fit injuria.— A. 881. Athanafius, Bishop of Naples, had been excommunicated for having entered into alliance with the Saracens. The Pope at laft abfolved him, upon condition, fays he, that you fend us the principal perfons amongst the Saracens whom you have with you, and cut the throats of all the reft. This condition of an abfolution impofed upon a Bishop by a Pope, is hardly conformable, fays Fleury, to the ancient mildness of the church of Chrift. Hardly indeed: but the church of Christ and the church of the Pope are two different things.- Pope John XII. elected at the age of eighteen, was a monster of iniquity. He was accufed and convicted in a council, of fimony, perjury, fornication, adultery, facrilege, murder, inceft, blafphemy, atheifm, &c. and depofed for thefe exploits. But he recovered his See, and depofed the Pope who had been appointed in his room. His name was Octavianus, but he took that of john XII, and was the first Pope who introduced the cuftom of affuming a new name. His end was fuitable to his behaviour; for being one night in bed with ano ther ther man's wife, he received a blow from an unknown hand, of which he died after eight days, without any other viaticum than the knock on the temples, which did his bufinefs. Baronius fays, from Luitprandus, that it was the devil who gave John that blow; but it feems not probable that fatan would have ufed his good friend in fuch a manner. It is more likely that it might be the husband of the adulterefs. About the time that John entered into his See, died Theophilus, who at the age of fixteen had been made Patriarch of Conftantinople, and was much fuch another faint as John. He openly fold bishop. ricks and all ecclefiaftical offices. He loved hunting and horfes even to madness; he kept two thoufand, and fed them with all fuch fort of rarities as they would eat. On an Holy Thurfday, as he was at mafs, word was brought to him at church that his favourite mare had foaled. He inftantly left the church-fervice in the midft, to pay her a vifit, and then came back to make an end of the fervice. He introduced the cuftom of dancing in the church on holydays, with immodeft poftures, accompanied with ridiculous ballads." We fhall conclude this article with the Author's obfervations concerning the obftacles to the propagation of the gospel ;they are fubjoined to Fleury's Difcourfe on the Croifades, which the Doctor has inferted in his fifth volume ;-indeed more than half this volume is tranflated from Fleury. From the attempts of Papists, fays he, to convert Infidels, nothing very beneficial to chriftianity can well be expected; not becaufe the former are always deficient in learning and abilities, but because their own religious fcheme labours under infuperable difficulties. Some of them can reafon well, and fome have written well, upon the evidences of natural and revealed religion. But to make men Chriftians is the fmaller part of their task; they must proceed, and make them members of the church of Rome, and receivers of her doctrines, fome of which are contrary to the testimony of the fenfes, and abounding with contradictions; fo that reafon must be discarded from the Romish fyftem, and a fanatical fort of faith required from the converts. • But that is not all. Suppofe that Infidel Princes fhould by fome way or other get an infight into ecclefiaftical history, into the papal ufurpations, the power which the vicar of Chrift claims over all men, both in temporals and fpirituals, the use of St. Peter's two fwords, the pretenfions to infallibility, the extortions, the indulgences, the inquifitions, the pious frauds, the lying miracles, the expurgatory indexes, the open violence, the interdicts, the excommunications, the breach of public faith, the maffacres of heretics and infidels, the abfolving fubjects from their allegiance, the depofing and affaffinating of princes, the difpofing of crowns and fcepters, and a long catalogue of enormities practifed by the Roman church and its rulers, it cannot be well fuppofed that fuch Princes would be fond of admitting fuch teachers into their dominions. But, to fay the plain truth, Chriftians in general seem not to be perfectly qualified for this undertaking; nor will be fo, till metaphy fical and fcholaftical divinity is either difcarded from the Chriftian fyftem, or at least is allowed not to be effential to Chriftianity, nor neceffary to be received as a condition to falvation.' This is honeftly and candidly faid, and well deferves the attentive confideration of thofe who have the interefts of chrifti anity and the honour of our ecclefiaftical conftitution at heart.. ART. VII. An Introduction to the Study of the Hiftory and Antiquities of Ireland: In which the Affertions of Mr. Hume and other Writers are occafionally confidered. Illuftrated with Copper-plates. Alfo two Appendixes: Containing 1. Animadverfions on an Introduction to the Hiftory of Great Britain and Ireland, by J. Macpherfon, Efq. 2. Obfervations on the Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland, by Sir John Dalrymple. By Sylvefter O Halloran. 4to. 12 s. Boards. Murray. 1772. TH THE late controverfy concerning the history and antiquities of the Land of Cakes, and of the Island of Saints, hath prompted a warm champion to take the field in behalf of the fair lady Hibernia; who, he thinks, hath been injuriously treated by many hiftorians of her fifter ifland, particularly by the Humes, the Macphersons, the Dalrymples, and other North-British writers against whom, therefore, he draws his vindictive weapon, and lays about him with an ardour and zeal which reminds us of the quarrel between Sir Archy Maciarcalm and Sir Callaghan O Bra-ballan, when they went to tilting about the y Spelow reputation of their great grandmothers. Having, fays Mr. O Halloran, a natural reverence for the dignity and antiquity of my native country, ftrengthened by education, and confirmed by an intimate knowledge of its hillory, I could not, without the greatest paia and indignation, behold on the one part, almost all the writers of England and Scotland (and from them of other parts of Europe) reprefenting the Irish nation as the moft brùtal and savage of mankind, deftitute of arts, letters and legiflation; and on the other, the extreme paffiveness and infenfibility of the prefent race of Irish, at fuch reiterated infults offered to truth and their country inftances of inattention to their own honoar, unexampled in any other civilized nation.' But, foft ye, a while. Who abufes the Irish now? Not their own flaming champion, furely! Yes, it is Mr. Sylvefter O Halloran himself; and groundlessly, too, does he feem to calumniate them, if any credit is due to his own confeffion, at the end of his book: where it appears, that fo far are the prefent race of Hibernians from being juftly chargeable with this unexampled infenfibility and inattention to their own honour, that we find them roufed from their lethargy by the infolence of their Caledonian adverfaries. The AMOR PATRIE, lays our In Macklin's Love a la mode, REV. Sept. 1773. O'Beallaghan Author, |